Approximately 614,000 Facebook users personal details appeared in ads on the site without their permission. US District Judge Richard Seeborg said it had not been established that Facebook had “undisputedly violated the law”. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23848323   The court estimated that Facebook had made about $73m (£47m) in profit from the Sponsored Stories featuring details of the 150 million members.
Privacy organisations will also receive some of the $20m (£12.9m) settlement.
The group said their details had been used to promote products and services through the site’s Sponsored Stories programme, without paying them or giving them the choice to opt-out.
A Sponsored Story is a tailored advertisement that appears on members’ Facebook pages, highlighting products a user’s friends have endorsed or “liked” on the site.
Approximately 7,000 Facebook users opted out of the settlement altogether, allowing them to bring their own legal action against the social network.
The settlement also requires Facebook to make changes to its “Statement of Rights” and to give users more information and control over how their details are used in the future.